Misty Jazz Piano Lesson
Misty is one of the most popular jazz ballads and the distinctive melody is immediately recognisable amongst musicians. The tune is written in the key of Eb major and follows an A1 – A2 – B – A2 Form. The tonality is primarily major with some altered harmony sprinkled in here and there.
First Learn The Melody
Before diving into the chords of Misty it’s a good idea to get a solid grasp of the melody. Find a strong vocal recording of the tune and study how the melody is phrased.
The melodic range of Misty is 2 octaves with the lowest note being the F below middle C and the highest note being F an octave above middle C. This is a wide spread for the melody of a jazz standard and so your right hand will be kept busy when playing this tune!
Related Lessons
Block chords are used for harmonising a melody line by moving the notes of the chord in parallel, following the same rhythm as the melody.
We explore various ways to add harmonic interest over dominant chords using tritones. We use the tunes ‘Body and Soul’ and ‘Misty’.
In a minor 251, the 5 chord will be an altered dominant chord. In this lesson we apply altered dominant chords to the major 251 progression.
Practice Tips
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This tune can also be played with a left hand stride style, check out the practice exercises in this course for more information.
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Take a listen to Erroll Garner's version of this tune. This is the definitive recording of Misty.
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Check out this lesson where we explore the Sus13 chords to 13#11 tritone subs. of Misty.
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Start with the basic R-3-7 voicings and then experiment with the different extensions. Stop on each chord and identify/visualise the extensions 9/11/13.
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You may need to run up and down the scales to help you visualise the upper extensions. Try adding in 9s and 13s over dominant chords, 9s and 11s on minor chords, and 9s and 13s on major chords.
- It’s through this process of exploration and discovery that we get a better understanding of how harmony works.
